


Gittering Prizes

by the10amongstthese3s



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Fluff, One Shot, Theft, adhd is a mood, anne is a shit-stirrer, bessie is lowkey a detective, ladies in waiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:34:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23032543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the10amongstthese3s/pseuds/the10amongstthese3s
Summary: When things around the theatre start going missing, Bessie makes it her mission to catch the culprit. The only problem is, the kleptomaniac in question seems to be one of their own. But who?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 84





	Gittering Prizes

It was nothing strange at first. A pile of sequins would go missing at work, a few baubles seemed to be missing from the queens’ Christmas tree when they took it down, the pot of paperclips on Joan’s desk mysteriously vanished. 

Nothing extravagant, but just enough to be noticeable.

Nobody minded though. They all chalked it down to confusion and bad memory at first. After all, misplaces items are common in any household, right?

It was when Jane visited the Ladies in Waiting household one day that the annoyance began.

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous!” Bessie had grumbled, searching through the cutlery drawer. She had been attempting to make her guest a cup of tea when she noticed the complete lack of teaspoons. Every single one was gone. Even the dishwasher could offer only tablespoons or a single ladle. 

Not a teaspoon in sight.

Before Bessie could even free the teabag from the mug with a tablespoon, Maria entered the room scratching her head, a look of confusion on her face.

“I swear I left a pile of change on the coffee table. Did you move it, Bess?” 

Oh, great. First teaspoons, now money? Deep down, Bessie knew she was probably being ridiculous, but something about the situation irked her. Too many things were going missing without explanation recently. Either someone was playing a prank on them, or there was a thief in their lives with access to the theatre and both the queens’ and ladies’ homes, who had a _very_ strange case of kleptomania.

As much as Maria reassured her that she probably misplaced the change and that “it wasn’t even enough for a cup of tea. Certainly nothing worth stealing!” Bessie couldn’t shake the strange feeling in her gut telling her that there was more to the situation than it appeared.

It was Parr’s car keys that went missing next. She was about to give Maggie and Anne a lift to the queens’ house from the theatre when she noticed the jangling keychain was nowhere to be seen. Not in her pockets, nor her bag, nor anywhere in the dressing room. It was almost as if they’d vanished into thin air.

A lot of things seemed to be vanishing lately.

Thankfully, Aragon had the spare keys to the car in her purse, so the three weren’t stranded with no transport. Of course, Anne had to joke that perhaps the woman’s God really was watching out for them at that moment, earning a slap on the back of her had.

She probably deserved that one, Anne had to admit, giggling childishly as she ran to the car with Maggie, Parr trailing closely behind.

When Kit’s glitter went missing a few days later, nobody thought much of it. The hyperactive girl had a habit of spilling the sparkling plague-like makeup all over or using way more than she realised. So, assuming it was just Kitty being Kitty, the group rolled their eyes and made a note to order her some more. 

All apart from Bessie that is, who’s instincts screamed that this was the same heathen behind their other losses.

And so it continued on. Maria’s drum key, the pot of emergency safety pins from the costume department, even the beautiful, stained glass wind chimes from the back of the queens’ house vanished without a trace. 

How could so many things be disappearing? This couldn’t be an accident.

Even Maria and Kit were starting to get wound up by the situation now, growing almost as paranoid as Bessie. Somebody they knew well had to be behind the disappearances. Someone they trusted. The question still remained though.

_Why?_

Bessie and Maria were discussing theories one day when a screaming match sounded from inside one of the dressing rooms. They both knew that voice all too well and god were they scared to hear her so infuriated.

Racing into the room, the ladies found Aragon stood above Anne and Cleves, yelling something about them being “ANNOYING, IMMATURE BRATS” and “UNFIT TO RULE”.

That last one seemed a little uncalled for. Especially given the look of genuine innocence and confusion on the queens’ faces.

“Catalina, what-?”

Before Maria could even begin to question the enraged queen, the woman turned to her, fury emanating from her very being.

“THESE BRATS HAVE HIDDEN MY CROWN AND WE HAVE TO BE ON IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!”

Of course, Bessie knew better. Sure the Annes’ were troublemakers. Heck, their motto was “double trouble” - that didn’t help! Still though, she could tell the two were being serious in their pleas of innocence. Their usual bandit was behind this, and Bessie was going to prove it.

After the incident, it wasn’t hard to get Aragon in on the plan. Of course, Maria happily tagged along too, vowing to catch this vandal before the situation got out of hand.

That’s how, for the next three days, Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth Blount, and Maria de Salinas found themselves glued to a laptop screen. It had been Cleves who jokingly suggested that they should install a camera in one of the dressing rooms. Nobody had expected them to actually do so!

For days, nothing happened. No sign of a thief, only Anne sorting out a particularly gruesome wedgie far too close to the camera, and Jane taking a chocolate bar from a secret stash under her dresser.

Certainly nothing particularly notable.

It was on the third day when Aragon had the idea to take their plan up a notch, setting a rather ingenious trap.

This thief seemed to be drawn to small, shiny objects so the woman opted to leave two reflective golden buttons on her workspace, placed nonchalantly between a can of hairspray and a bottle of foundation. They’d come as spares with a coat she’d bought, as she made sure to mention to the others whilst showing off her new coat, laying the bait perfectly.

Completely inconspicuous, just as they had hoped.

For a while, it seemed as though the plan may have failed. Once again, they were going to have to go home with their minds racing, questioning who it could possibly be.

Perhaps the culprit had already given up. Maybe the strange joke had come to its conclusion without them even realising.

They’d been watching Anne take off her eyeshadow for what felt like forever when Maggie entered the room with a bright smile. The camera didn’t have audio, but it was obvious that the two were joking around, making Bessie and Maria exchange a smirk. The sisterly girls certainly were an adorable pair, that much was certain.

Nothing seemed suspicious until Maggie took a seat at Aragon’s dressing table, beaming as she showed the buttons to her giggling queen.

Bingo.

Without a second thought, the three burst into the room, ready for their “AHA!” moment. They’d been waiting for this. Instead of apologies or gasps of surprise from Maggie though, all they heard was hysterical cackling from Anne Boleyn.

“Have you three really only just figured it out?” The girl sobbed, finding the situation absolutely hilarious for a reason none of them could quite pinpoint. Was she in on this? Had she known all along?

It wasn’t until Anne spoke again that the reality of the situation set in.

_“Why do you think I call her Magpie?”_

Noticing how Maggie’s hands clenched nervously around the buttons, Anne quickly slipped off her choker and handed it to the girl, making a quick trade with a smile on her face. The way the ‘B’ shimmered under the lights seemed to distract the girl from her anxiety, making her smile excitedly.

With a shit-eating grin, Anne handed over the buttons to Aragon and made a declaration that instantly dissolved the tension in the room. 

“ADHD just be like that sometimes.”

They couldn’t argue with those words of wisdom, that much was certain.

Of course, Maggie had to give up her stash of stolen goods. As reluctant as she was to part with the hoard of treasure, the girl couldn’t help giggling at the comparisons to a dragon Anne kept making. 

With a vow to ask permission before taking the other’s items, Maggie was quickly forgiven. Even Aragon couldn’t hold a grudge against the embarrassed guitarist. In fact, Maggie found an unexpected gift from the queen laying on her dressing table the next day. A confirmation of her forgiveness.

A shiny, golden button.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! 💚 I never write anything based around Maggie so I thought I'd explore her character a little, though it did turn into more of a Bessie-centric fic! Seen as I have Anne call her Magpie as a lil nickname in my fics, I thought I'd flesh that idea out a little. I don't know why, but I always get ADHD vibes from Maggie 🦆
> 
> Fun fact: apparently magpies don't actually like shiny things. That's just a myth!


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